This research evaluated the ethics competencies which were determined to be important to the curriculum of an ethics course for students studying Nondestructive Testing and Welding Inspection. Data were gathered from samples of American Society of Nondestructive Testing Nationally Certified Level III's (N = 268), American Welding Society Nationally Certified Welding Inspectors CWI's (N = 212) and American Welding Society Nationally Certified Associate Welding Inspectors - CAWI's (N = 101) who are currently licensed by their respective societies. The twenty-nine (29) item instrument utilized a six-point Likert type scale for the data collection. The scale, which was validated by consensus using a DELPHI panel procedure, utilized the Hoyt-Stunkard method for assessing reliability. The computed reliability for the instrument was determined to be +0.970. Analysis of variance tests were completed for each of the twenty-nine (29) competencies to ascertain differences between ASNT Level III's, AWS CWI's and AWS CAWI's samples. Factor analysis, using the R-mode, provided for the clustering of competencies and constituted the major analysis procedure for the study. The results of the study indicated the presence of three (3) clusters of content which were considered necessary to curriculum inclusion in an ethics course for nondestructive testing and welding inspection. The identified clusters include: I. Ethical issues and personal integrity (18 competencies), II. Ethics and the legal aspects of inspection (8 competencies), and III. Ethical theory and professional conduct (4 competencies). Overall competency means ranged from 3.929 to 5.594; significance tests showed only five (5) rejected hypotheses for the twent-ynine (29) primary competencies. Standard errors of the mean were found to be lower for the ASNT Level III's sample. The results of the study present a valid pattern for the development of objectives which should be included in an ethics curriculum for nondestructive testing personnel and welding inspectors. / Graduation date: 1993

In British Columbia (BC) foresters registered with the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) have been given the exclusive right to practise professional forestry. As with all professions there is an expectation that Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs) conduct their activities in an ethical manner and are therefore obligated to act as an ethical agent on behalf of society regarding forest resources. If a certain level of ethical agency is desired of professionals we need to understand whether or not an RPF possesses the ability (defined as their discretion) to sufficiently fulfil this responsibility. Rule-based and principle-based standards of forest management, an RPF’s scope of practice, and the socio-political framework of public forest management in BC all come together to define an RPF’s discretionary context, which sets the limits to an RPF’s discretion. This context is highly idiosyncratic to a specific situation or decision and this makes the RPF’s discretion similarly idiosyncratic. This suggests that an RPF should not be accountable for a standard of ethical agency that does not reflect the context-dependent level of discretion they possess. Fifteen interviews of RPFs were conducted for this study to discuss their approach to ethical decision making. The analysis of the interviews revealed 12 major themes, several of which appear to be highly idiosyncratic to the situations described by the participants. The way these themes were perceived by the participants revealed the differences in the discretionary context of their situations. Several aspects of ethical deliberation emerged from the data that appear to be particular to broad employer categories, including delegated decision-making (government), economic and forest health considerations (industry), and the tension between personal and professional values (consultants).

Ongoing structural and financial changes in the health care sector have resulted in increased risks for ethical dilemmas and moral distress. It is purported that increased ethical competence will help staff manage ethical dilemmas and hence decrease moral distress. To enhance ethical competence several approaches may be used – theoretical education, and methods focusing on reflection and decision-making abilities. Ethics rounds are a widespread systematic method hypothesized to improve ethical competence, nurture a reflective climate, and help in ethical decision-making. Despite its popularity, its effects on moral distress have hitherto never been evaluated in a controlled study. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the impact of an intervention, including ethics rounds; the hypothesis being that the intervention would decrease perceived moral distress. An additional aim was exploring the concept of moral distress in various health care establishments, including pharmacies. Focus groups were conducted to explore the concept of moral distress. To evaluate the intervention a scale assessing staff-perceived moral distress was designed, validated, and implemented. Results showed that moral distress is evident in diverse health care settings. Some factors associated with this were lack of resources, conflicts of interest, and rules that are incompatible with practice. An expanded definition of moral distress was presented. The training program was much appreciated by participants. However, no significant effects on perceived moral distress were found. Reasons could be that the intervention was too short or otherwise ineffective, there is no association between ethical competence and moral distress, the assessment scale was not sensitive enough, or management was not sufficiently involved. There is a need to further refine the various aspects of ethical dilemmas in clinical settings, and to evaluate the most efficient means to enhance skills for dealing with ethical dilemmas, for the benefit of staff, patients, institutions, and society.

This thesis aims to examine the question of freedom in its relation to political authority in social contract theories of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). In order to do that, discussions on human nature, evolution into political association and the foundations of legitimate governments are focused on. As the social contract theories of Hobbes and Rousseau mainly seek for rational justification of political obligation, the primary aim of this thesis is to analyze the nature of political obligation in order to discuss the relation between subject and sovereign in the framework of freedom.

This thesis aims to contribute to Norman Daniels&#039 / expansion of Rawls&#039 / theory of Justice as Fairness to health care by considering individual responsibility in maintaining and restoring health. The thesis also considers transplantation as a special case and develops a Rawlsian model for transplantation.

One of the prevalent notions in the late twentieth century&lsquo / s political philosophy, justice lies at the heart of ethics, politics and jurisprudence. In this study, while I insist on the dominion of politics and the economic mode of production over morality and law, I consider the ethical realm to be also very important in justifying political movements and transformations. Defining the concept of justice plays a role more or less in the realization of justice on the Earth. I try to reveal the bases of justice in the second chapter. My attitude can be defined as foundationalism and realism molded with historical materialism. Subsequently, I attempt to deal with the bearers of justice / i.e., individuals, institutions, or structures. The contemporary political theories on justice pay attention to the notion of the individual and the faculty of rationality. Although I admit the role ofindividuals in ensuring justice, social structures are the main bearers of justice. In the fourth chapter, I cover the main principles or pillars of justice, namely, equality, freedom, and rights. Equality can be classified as legal, political, social, economic and moral. I claim that economic equality is the principal one among others since economic inequality usually generates other inequalities. Economic equality can be satisfied through just production in which alienation and exploitation do not take place. Absence of exploitation is also required for realization of freedoms and human rights. Thus, I propose the principle of absence of exploitation as a primary justice principle, which is necessary but not sufficient to eradicate injustices in the world.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Var går egentligen gränsen mellan lärarens yrkesroll och dennes egna privata sfär? Utifrån min erfarenhet i början av mitt arbete som lärare att det var svårt att sätta en gräns för när arbetsveckan var slut och dessutom svårt att avsluta den med en känsla av att vara nöjd väcktes intresset för att utforska den gränsen. I uppsatsen har jag därför tittat närmare på hur stödet för en sådan avgränsning ser ut i de politiska styrdokumenten, arbetstidsavtalen och lärarens yrkesetik. Jag har också försökt ge en bild av hur konsekvenserna för läraren och dennes privata sfär ser ut under de förhållanden som råder idag. Resultatet visar att dessa gränsdragningar är vaga och att lärare idag har svårigheter att upprätthålla sin privata sfär och tillgodogöra sig de värden och funktioner som den rymmer. Frågan visar sig också vara nära relaterad till frågan om yrkets avgränsningar i stort - vad som ska rymmas inom läraruppdraget, i synnerhet i förhållande till utformningen av arbetstidens ramar. / From my experience in the beginning of my working as a teacher it was difficult to draw a line for when the working week was over, and even more difficult to end it with a feeling of complacency, which made me interested in exploring this frontier: Where is the border between the teacher's professional role and his own private sphere?  In this essay I have therefore looked at how the border between the teacher's professional role and his own private sphere is defined in the political policy documents, working agreements and the teacher's explicit professional ethics. I have also tried to give an idea of the consequences for the teacher and his or her private sphere under the conditions that prevail today. The study shows that these borders are vaguely defined, and that teachers today struggle to maintain their private sphere, and thus to take advantage of the values and functions that it contains. The question also turns out to be closely related to the issue of delimitation of the profession at large – about what should be accommodated within the teaching assignment, in particular in relation to the design of the working frame.

The failure of the many township and rural schools to improve learner outcomes is not only recognised as a pervasive and insidious social problem affecting those communities, but also entrenches inequalities and militates social cohesion and unity. The study highlights the challenges experienced in the Ilembe District that hamper the effective delivery of a quality education. The study confronts these challenges from a constitutional and human rights perspective, and seeks to unravel whether or not educators grasp the critical nature of their role in facilitating the achievement, not only of the educational goals but of other Constitutional imperatives as well. Given the turbulent nature of the environment in which educators operate, the study also seeks to establish if educators can keep up with the new challenges of teaching in the twenty-first century. In this regard, the role of continuing professional teacher development and the new competencies required of educators were investigated to ascertain whether they lead to improved teaching and therefore more effective learning. The study further investigated the effectiveness of the Code of Professional Ethics in curbing unethical behaviour and thus ensuring the attainment of objectives. Furthermore, the study looked at the various interventions by the Government in an endeavour to facilitate the realisation of the Constitutional ideals. This involved looking at the legislative and policy framework put in place, as well as campaigns and other initiatives that demonstrate the government’s commitment to these ideals. A literature study added another dimension to it, in that it provided the theoretical basis for the study and another perspective on how these matters were dealt with elsewhere. The researcher used an eclectic approach in an effort to get a better understanding of the problem. The choice of methodology and design used in the study was, to a large extent, influenced by the nature and objectives of the study. The study was premised on the fact that the rurality of the Ilembe District should not be used to deprive the learners from this community of a quality education and that, the many policies that seem wonderful on paper are useless if they do not translate to effective implementation. / Thesis (MPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

Universities in South Africa endure the challenge on an annual basis to secure field placements for the growing number of social work students. Field practice together with the required supervision is a critical component of the social work curriculum, since it provides students with opportunities to practice the skills taught in their theoretical courses. Whilst securing field placement is an extension of the social work curriculum, it is also essential to understand the plight of the supervisors and agencies that provide this service. The literature available in South Africa on this aspect is very limited, yet the dependency on agencies and supervisors is immense. This the study aimed at exploring and describing the experiences of social workers who supervise social work students’ field placement within Durban and the surrounding areas in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative explorative study was conducted through the use of an in-depth interview schedule and a total of 18 supervisors from a range of organizations formed the sample for this study. Supervisors were interviewed individually with the aim of exploring their experiences, perceptions, needs and challenges with regards to field practice placements and they were invited to make suggestions for a best practice model. The main conclusions drawn from this study were that agency supervisors acknowledge their critical role in this process. However, training and supporting them is minimised which impacts in various ways on their ability to function optimally. In addition, supervisors feel that students are not thoroughly screened for the profession; they are underprepared for the field and lack the basic skills essential for practice. Supervisors are often forced to function in isolation in the absence of models and theories on field practice placement and the lack of collaboration with the universities. The different universities in the province have different requirements and expectations of supervisors. The recent strategy to address the retention of social workers through the awarding of bursaries has resulted in enormous challenges, particularly related to students’ commitment, dedication to the profession and the impact on the NGO sector. The time spent in field practice is regarded as insufficient for students’ exposure to the dynamics of all types of services and the introduction of a policy, model and framework for student supervision by the professional counsel is long outstanding and impacts on the status of the profession. Emanating from the findings, recommendations have been made with regards to optimising the learning opportunity for students and to enhance the experience of supervisors in student supervision. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.